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Peak Flow Meter/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Tim and Moby are riding their bicycles side by side on a mountain road. They stop suddenly, because there is a large, angry mountain goat blocking their way. MOUNTAIN GOAT: Beh-eh-eh-eh-eh. TIM: Uh, let's wait here for a little while. I... I need to catch my breath anyway. Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, I understand why I need my inhaler. It really helps with my asthma; but how come my doctor wants me to use this peak flow thingy? From, Eugena. Peak flow meters measure how fast you can get air out of your lungs. An image shows a peak flow meter. TIM: If you have asthma, that's useful for a lot of different reasons. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, people with asthma sometimes have trouble breathing. They can experience coughing, shortness of breath, wheezing, and tightness in the chest. Text reads: ASTHMA. Bullet points list the symptoms Tim describes. TIM: These symptoms are called asthma attacks, and they can be really scary. Peak flow meters can help predict asthma attacks hours and even days in advance. So you can take steps to prevent them from happening. Moby uses an asthma inhaler. TIM: Peak flow meters also help determine how well your medicine's working, what kinds of things trigger an attack, and when you might need emergency care. Images and animations show an asthma inhaler, smog blowing in the air, and a doctor. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Sure, I'll show you how to use it. Tim holds up a peak flow meter. It looks similar to an asthma inhaler, with a mouthpiece to blow into and a gauge that measures the amount of expelled breath. TIM: Peak flow meters have a little scale on them, with a sliding marker. Before you take a measurement, you want to slide the marker down to the lowest reading of the scale. Tim slides the marker down as he describes. TIM: Stand up if you can, and take a deep breath. Put the mouthpiece in your mouth, and close your lips around it. Uh, make sure not to put your tongue inside the hole. Tim puts his mouth on the mouthpiece. TIM: Okay, now. His words are muffled. He pulls his mouth back from the mouthpiece and speaks again. TIM: Uh, okay, so now you blow as hard and as fast as you can in one breath. Tim inhales, puts his mouth on the mouthpiece, and exhales. The marker on the meter moves upward. Tim removes his mouth and points to the marker. TIM: The meter will show how much air you blew in liters per minute. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah. I, I think that's a pretty good reading. You jot down your reading and repeat the whole routine two more times. An animation shows the number 400 being jotted on a notepad. Three images show three peak flow meters. Their readings are 390, 412, and 400. TIM: Record the highest of the three readings, along with the date and time you did it. An animation shows a circle around the reading 412. Handwritten text reads: 412 – 6/09/06 – 12:20 PM. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, there is no one normal reading. It depends on your age, your height and weight, and whether you're a boy or a girl. Images show a baby, a ruler, a bathroom scale, and silhouettes of a boy and girl. TIM: But when you get your first peak flow meter, your doctor will probably ask you to use it a few times a day for two weeks. Tim is sitting in his boxer shorts on a doctor's examination table. A doctor is using a stethoscope to listen to Tim's breathing. TIM: The purpose is to find out what your personal best peak flow number is. An animation shows a column of numbers on a notepad. A pencil circles the number 418, which is the highest number in the column. TIM: That's the highest number you can reach when you have your asthma under control. Then you can compare any future peak flow readings against your personal best to see how you're doing. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Your doctor may give you a special color chart to help you remember how to react to different readings. Tim holds up a chart. A vertical scale is divided into red, yellow, and green regions. TIM: Blowing eighty to one hundred percent of your personal best puts you in the green, as in go. You can continue doing what you normally do. An animation of the color chart shows the reading Tim describes, with the peak flow meter marker in the green region. TIM: Fifty to eighty percent puts you in the yellow zone, meaning caution, because your breathing is not as good as it could be. An animation of the color chart shows the reading Tim describes, with the peak flow meter marker in the yellow region. TIM: Your doctor will have a plan for what you should do with a yellow reading, like taking medicine, or resting. And below fifty percent is red, as in stop. An animation of the color chart shows the reading Tim describes, with the peak flow meter marker in the red region. TIM: There, you need to take your medicine right away, and call your doctor if your readings don't return to the yellow or green areas. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Right. It's just like a stoplight. It may seem like a total pain at first, but your meter can help you keep your asthma under control. Moby shoots his asthma inhaler in the mountain goat's face. MOUNTAIN GOAT: Beh-eh-eh-eh-eh. The goat backs away and runs off. TIM: Let's get going. Tim and Moby pedal away on their bikes. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts